An unsettling mystery has washed up on Japan’s shores. Over the past two months a fleet of 12 ghost ships containing the rotting remains of sailors has washed up on the Japanese coastline, sparking an investigation in the country. These wooden boats have been found in the Sea of Japan on or near the coast, carrying a chilling cargo — the decaying bodies of 22 people. All the bodies were “partially skeletonized” — two were found without heads — and one boat contained six skulls, the coast guard said. The first boat was found in October, then a series of boats were found...

Are drones leading us to war? Albert Einstein once said that he didn’t know how World War III would be fought, though he did know about World War IV – with sticks and stones. He was warning us that our escalation of nuclear weapons would lead to a war where very little – and very few – were left standing. Today, what would Einstein think of the recent escalation of combat drones? Defense planners argue that drones save lives, sparing those who would’ve had to fight the enemy face to face, or gun-sight to gun-sight. Now, with drones, or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial...

An Alleged FBI Memo Found By Researchers In Japan Claims that ‘Aliens Exist’ Investigators at the Hakui Centre for UFO Research in Tokyo, Japan, claim to have discovered a document that proves the existence of extra-terrestrial life. Museum workers at the Hakui Centre allegedly stumbled across a document suggesting that the FBI found 3 metallic, saucer-shaped objects; each one containing 3-foot tall occupants. “An investigator for the Air Forces states that three so-called flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico. They were described as being circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter. Each one was occupied by three bodies of...

Lab Grown Kidneys Transplanted Into Animals For Very First Time (Japan) Researchers at the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo have detailed the alleged successful transplant of functional kidneys created in a lab for the very first time in both rats and pigs. Using a technique they call the “stepwise peristaltic ureter” system (SWPU) researchers were able to successfully attach the partially lab-grown kidneys into host subjects, allowing for continued growth of the new kidney while avoiding problems like hydronephrosis (blockage of the ureter tubes disallowing the passage of urine from kidney to bladder). Kidneys were grown from embryonic tissue in...

Does a statue at an ancient shrine in southern Japan depict an alien abduction? Some Modern UFOlogists think it does. The statue depicts the very old and popular legend of Urashima: Taro the Fisherman. In the 8th century folktale Taro saves the life of a injured tortoise and is rewarded with a journey to an undersea kingdom. There he sees many things of wonder, including a huge and luxurious subterranean palace. If that wasn’t enough, the tortoise he saved has now transformed herself into a beautiful princess. She brings Taro to her father, the Emperor, who thanks him for saving his...

BREAKING: Parts of Japan Evacuated as Minor Tsunami Expected Following the cancellation of the Tsunami Advisory for California this afternoon, according to a report from the National Weather Service, low-lying parts of Japan are being evacuated as the small waves are set to hit the coast starting at 20:20 UTC for parts of Chiba, Fukushima and Aichi prefectures, according to public broadcaster NHK. ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL ————————– * ESTIMATED TIMES OF ARRIVAL -ETA- OF THE INITIAL TSUNAMI WAVE FOR PLACES WITHIN THREATENED REGIONS ARE GIVEN BELOW. ACTUAL ARRIVAL TIMES MAY DIFFER AND THE INITIAL WAVE MAY NOT BE THE LARGEST....

In a small town in the middle of Western Tokyo, there sits a patch of green. It’s not a garden or a somebody’s yard, it’s something quite different and unexpected. It’s an abandoned military base. But not just any base. It’s the former headquarters of all the U.S. Pacific Forces during the Cold War. The installation is hard to see. That’s because it’s covered up by nature. Overgrown. Though no one has worked there for years, it’s by no means lifeless. Why was it abandoned? And why did the US Forces move north away from the area? Some say the base was...

Pressure, pushing down on me. Pressing down on you. Under Pressure. Remember those lines sung by David Bowie and Freddie Mercury? The song Under Pressure warned of the stressful toll that modern life takes on us all. If you watch the first part of the music video, you’ll see thousands of people being herded into packed commuter trains. It’s Tokyo, on a rail line most noted for suicides. Packed trains and stress are a way of life – and death – in Japan. And jumping in front of one is an all too common way to commit suicide and...

In the event of a zombie apocalypse, it’s imperative that you have a plan. If you’re influenced by the movies, then you might be inclined to take your chances and head for the nearest pub or shopping mall in order to outwit a growing horde of bloodthirsty zombies. Your average shopping mall is equipped with all […]

Nobody has ever put a lander on the far side of the Moon before, but China is well on its way to being the first. Over the weekend, the country launched a craft called Queqiao – a satellite that will orbit the Moon to relay messages from the yet-to-be-launched lander, Chang’e-4. The Moon is tidally […]

It only lasted for a savage, fleeting instant, but for 8 intense seconds last week an eagle, a fox, and a rabbit flew across the sky as one. In an incredibly rare scene, photographers have captured the moment a bald eagle swooped down upon a young red fox clutching a rabbit, and in its whirlwind […]

There is something special and awe-inspiring about watching new land form. This is what is now happening in Hawai’i as its Kīlauea volcano erupts. Lava is reaching the ocean and building land while producing spectacular plumes of steam. These eruptions are hugely important for the creation of new land. But they are also dangerous. Where […]

Calling all citizen scientists! A project looking for those dying, exploding stars called supernovae out in deep space is also searching for volunteers to help in the work, and you can get real science credit for it along the way – even if you’ve never done a second of star-gazing before. Astronomers from the Australian National […]

When Jean-Lou Justine received the first photograph of a giant worm with a head like a shovel, the biologist was astounded. Hammerhead flatworms, which grow to a foot or more in length, do not belong in European vegetable gardens. “We do not have that in France,” said Justine, a professor at the National Museum of […]

Astronauts go through many physiological changes during their time in spaceflight, including lower muscle mass and slower muscle development. Similar symptoms can occur in the muscles of people on Earth’s surface, too. In fact, it could affect everyone to some extent later in life. “Age-related skeletal muscle disorders, such as sarcopenia, are becoming a greater […]

Exposure to early life trauma can lead to poor physical and mental health in some individuals, which can be passed on to their children. Studies in mice show that at least some of the effects of stress can be transmitted to offspring via environmentally-induced changes in sperm miRNA levels. A new epigenetics study raises the […]

Most renderings and reconstructions of pterodactyls and other extinct flying reptiles show a flight pose much like that of bats, which fly with their hind limbs splayed wide apart. But a new method for inferring how ancient animals might have moved their joints suggests that pterosaurs probably couldn’t strike that pose. “Most of the work […]

Corals growing in high-latitude reefs in Western Australia can regulate their internal chemistry to promote growth under cooler temperatures, according to new research at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at The University of Western Australia. The study, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggests that ocean warming may […]